Sasser: Catch a day of free fishing, big bass banquet in early June

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Texas Parks and Wildlife Department information specialist Larry Hodge was fishing at Lake Texoma when he hooked this gaspergou, more formally known as freshwater drum. The fish fought so hard that Hodge was certain he had hooked a 13-pound largemouth bass.

June 7 promises to be a big day at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. It’s the kickoff to National Fishing and Boating Week. There’s free admission to TFFC for youths 12 and younger and free fishing for the whole family.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., free hotdogs, chips and drinks will be served by employees of the Athens Wal-Mart Supercenter. The schedule of events and details are at tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc or call 903-676-2277.

June 7 is also designated Free Sport Fishing Day in Texas, meaning fishing license requirements are waived for that day only.

On the evening of June 7, TFFC will host its annual Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Banquet, which recognizes anglers who contributed Toyota ShareLunkers to the big bass hatchery program.

After a fast start, the 2013-2014 ShareLunker season ground to a disappointing halt. There were nine total entries, just the third time entries were in single digits since this program got an early jump-start by a state-record 17.67-pounder caught Nov. 26, 1986, by Lake Fork fishing guide Mark Stevenson.

More on Stevenson and the fish, which he named Ethel, later. Of this season’s nine ShareLunkers (largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more), three were caught from Fork and all three were caught by nonresident anglers, though one was crappie fishing at the time.

Randall Claybourne of Tulsa, Okla., earned Angler of the Year honors for a 13.86-pounder from Fork. It’s the smallest AOY catch in program history. Claybourne is due a prize package of high-end fishing tackle, but he misses out on the real prize (a lifetime Texas fishing license) because only Texas residents are eligible.

Two of the ShareLunkers were lake records. Casey Laughlin of Rowlett caught a Lake Palestine record, 13.22 pounds, and Ken Leonard of New Braunfels caught a 13-pounder from Lady Bird Lake, the Austin city lake formerly known as Town Lake.

Lake Athens produced two ShareLunkers, the only lake other than Fork with more than one. Athens now has three total fish, the first one caught in 1989. Toledo Bend also had a ShareLunker, as did Lake Austin. The program uses only pure-strain Florida bass to spawn, and two of them did spawn, producing 143,440 fry.

Nomination of the original ShareLunker, incidentally, was rejected by the HOF committee because Ethel was a fish and not a person, and the rules state “person or organization.”

Being an HOF Committee member is a thankless job, but get a life, people. As the star attraction for Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield, Mo., Ethel became the most famous bass in modern history.

Mark Stevenson, the fishing guide who caught Ethel, made Texas bass fishing more than a numbers game. He arguably sped the acceptance of not killing big bass, yet Stevenson was rejected by the HOF, according to the rejection letter, “because the committee is particularly interested in contributions made by the nominee that go beyond the person’s livelihood responsibilities.”

There are currently 25 inductees in the HOF. At least 10 of the individuals and one of the companies could be rejected under a “livelihood responsibilities” requirement. Five of them are former TPWD employees. They were paid to do what they did to earn HOF honors. The current HOF Committee Chairman, Phil Durocher, a retired director of Inland Fisheries, was inducted in 2010.

For the first time since the HOF was created in 1997, there are no inductees. That’s a bad precedent from a committee asking citizens for nominations, then rejecting them, especially nominations as qualified as Mark Stevenson and Ethel.

Weekend tip

If you’re planning to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend by boating or fishing, be careful out there. If the weather is good, this holiday weekend is traditionally one of the busiest times for recreational boating.

Texas ranked fourth among all states in boating accidents last year, third in fatalities and sixth in registered boats.